Batting figure for a simulated baseball game



References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] Inventors Howard L. Dekan Evanston, Illinois;

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ABSTRACT: A game apparatus for simulating baseball play including a toy figure of a batter with a rotatable upper torso section carrying a bat; a spring driver for rotating the torso and bat so that the bat strikes a ball held on an adjacent support; a playing board with indicia thereon depicting a baseball diamond; chance means for determining the advancement of the toy figure as a base runner; and playing pieces for marking such advancement. The ball support is vertically adjustable by means of a projection on a vertically movable rod which sits on a selected one of variable height shoulders in a base portion.

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Patented Aug. 25, 1970 Sheet I mvamor-zs HOW/9D 4, 05mm LEON/D FP/PAK B JW (2% ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 25, 1970.

Sheet 2 of 2 BATTING FIGURE FOR A SIMULATED BASEBALL GAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a game apparatus for simulating baseball. Games involving baseball have long been known and enjoyed in various forms. The present invention is concerned with a novel spring-driven toy batter which is activated by one of the players of the game, and a live" ball which is actually hit by the bat held by the toy batter and may be caught or fielded by one of the players of the game on defense.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION torso in the path of said bat as said upper section is rotated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of the toy figure of the batter, the rotatable platform on which he is mounted, the ball and its support, and the base depicting the baseball diamond, with the spinner and spinner disc thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the toy figure simulating the batter; and also showing the platform, the ball support, and the base;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-section along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of the base member the ball holder;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view, partly in section, of the lower and upper sections of the torso, with the upper section shown in opened halves for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a playing piece or marker for indicating the position of a base runner on the playing board; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section of portions of the upper and lower torso, showing the upper torso in raised position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The game apparatus comprises a base 10 which may be placed upon a table, floor or any other suitable flat surface. The base includes a playing board area which, as best seen in FIG. 1, includes markings of a baseball diamond with the bases indicated at l2, l4 and 16. In the area which would normally be occupied by home plate, the base has an elevated raised section 18 which is circular in horizontal cross section. At the center of the cover or top of the raised section 18 is a spindle or post 20. By means of collar 22, platform 24 is rotatably mounted on spindle 20. The main section of the platform is circular as shown in FIG. 1.

A handle 26 extends horizontally from the platform 24, which handle may be grasped by the player designated as batter for easy rotation or oscillation of the platform. The purpose of the rotation or oscillation of the platform will be later stated in connection with the description of the play of the game. Opposite said handle 26, an arm-like section of the platform extends horizontally as indicated at 28 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Mounted on this extension 28 is a ball-support indicated generally at 30, to be hereafter described.

Mounted on the main circular section of the platform 24 is a toy figure of a baseball batter indicated generally at 32. The lower torso 34 has attached hollow legs 36 and 38 and cover plate 40. The upper torso 42 is a separate piece and has appended thereto arms 44 and 46, and head 48. A toy bat 50 is held by the arms in extended position, approximating the normal stance of a batter.

As will be more fully explained later, the upper torso section 42 is designed to be rotated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 1 to place the batter and bat in the ready or cocked position. When the upper torso is released, it rotates counter-clockwise, as shown in FIG. I, under spring-drive to cause the bat to strike the ball resting on the ball support; the rotation brings the arms and bat into the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2.

The mounting for the upper torso and the means for rotating that torso will next be described. Fixed in the cover plate 40 of the lower torso is the upwardly extending post 52 formed with a cap or button 54 at the top thereof. The upper torso is rotatably mounted on post 52 by means of three substantially horizontal plates 56, 58 and 60 fixed within the upper torso. Plate 56 is mounted in the upper rib cage portion of the figure and plates 58 and 60 in the lower rib cage as shown in FIG. 2. Each of the plates has a circular opening at the center thereof which is adapted to fit around the post so that the upper torso is rotatably supported by the post and the cover plate 40 of the lower torso. As shown in FIG. 5, each of the three plates 56, 58 and 60 are made in two half sections and joined together around the post to constitute a single plate. The coils of springs 62 surround the post 52. The upper end 64 of spring 62 is inserted in an opening in the upper section of post 52 to anchor this end of the spring in the post. The lower end of spring 62 is inserted in an opening in block 66 mounted on plate 58 (see FIG. 5) to anchor the lower end of the spring in the upper torso. When the upper torso is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 5, the spring 62 is wound around post 52 and placed under tension.

Latch means are provided for locking the upper torso in place, when it has been turned clockwise a given distance as shown in FIG. 5. When the latch is released the spring 62 will cause the upper torso to revolve rapidly in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 5) to bring the bat around to meet the ball in the ball holder. The latch means comprises the wire or rod 68 which extends upwardly through the opening 70 in the cover plate 40 of the lower torso. The rod 68 is looped at 72 for attachment of coil spring 74 extending from the loop to the cover plate 40 to which it is affixed. This spring 74 biases the rod 68 upwardly so that its upper end extends a short distance above cover plate 40. The lower end of rod 68 extends downwardly within leg 36 of the toy figure 32 and terminates in button 76 positioned in a well 78 located in the handle 26. Downward movement of the button 76 in the well causes the rod 68 to be lowered against the tension of spring 74, so that the top end of rod 68 is thereby moved below the upper surface of cover plate 40.

The lowest horizontal plate 60 within the upper torso 42 has a vertical opening 80 which is elongated and positioned radially of post 52 so that it will readily align with the upper end of rod 68 when the upper torso is moved to its cocked position. Thus when rod 68 projects above cover plate 40 it will engage in opening 80 when plate 60 is rotated with upper torso 42 to position opening 80 over rod 68 (FIG. 2) and the latter thereupon latches or locks plate 60 and the upper torso in that position against the tension of spring 62. When button 76 is depressed and rod 68 lowered so that its upper end is below the surface of cover plate 40, plate 60 and the upper torso 42 will be free to move and will rapidly rotate counter-clockwise under the tension of spring 62.

The extent of counter-clockwise rotation of plate 60 is limited by stop 82 mounted on cover plate 40 and anchored in post 52, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. Plate '60 has a cut-out section indicated at 84 through which stop 82 projects when plate 60 rests upon cover plate 40. This cut-out portion 84 and the stop 82 limit the rotational movement of plate 60 about post- 52. A block 86 is mounted on the upper surface of plate 60 on the edge of cut-out portion 84, and this block abuts against stop 82 when the plate 60 has completed its rapid counterclockwise motion upon release of latch-rod 68. The face of the block 86 which opposes stop 82 projects beyond the cut-out edge of plate 60, so that block 86 contacts the stop 82 to halt the rotary movement of the plate 60 and the upper torso. The block 86 is preferably of rubber or other yieldable material.

When release button 76 is depressed to lower rod 68 out of opening 70, plate 60 rotates rapidly as described, and a release of pressure on button 76 allows the end of rod 68 to move upwardly into engagement with the bottom of plate 60. Consequently, as the upper torso 42 is then turned clockwise to place the batter in position to again strike the ball 93, the lower surface of plate 60 rides over the end of rod 68 until opening 70 is again overlying rod 68 and the latter moves upwardly to latch the torso 42 in its cocked or ready position.

In order to provide for greater tension on spring 62, and thereby provide a greater striking force for the bat 50, the illustrated structure is designed so that the upper torso 42 may be raised and one or more additional turns given to spring 62. In so doing, the plate 60 is raised above stop 82 while the spring is being tightened, and the plate 60 is then lowered to its operating position with stop 82 in the path of rotation of block 86. Spring 62 is initially provided with sufficient clearance about post 52 to accommodate the described adjustment of the spring tension. Further, there is sufficient clearance between cap 54 on post 52 and plate 56 when the upper torso is in its lowered position to allow the upper torso to be raised for rotational clearance. A skirt 88 hangs from the lower portion of upper torso 42 to cover the gap between the two torso sections when the upper torso is raised (See FIG. 7).

The ball support indicated generally at 30 will next be described. This support consists of a base member 90 mounted on extension 28 of platform 24, and a rod 92 extending vertically from the base to hold the ball 93. The ball 93 may be made of any suitable material; it has been found that a ping-pong ball is suitable and minimizes injury to a player.

The base member 90 consists of an upper tubular element 98 extending above the platform extension 28 and a lower bar section 100 extending below the platform 28. The bar section 100 has a vertical bore 102 for receiving and supporting rod 92. Seated in the upper tubular section 98 of the base 90 is a cylindrical core member 104, best seen in FIG. 4. This core member has a vertical bore which is aligned with, and is an extension of, bore 102 in the lower section 100 of the base. The core has three shoulders 106, 108 and 110 at different levels adjacent the bore and exposed so that projection 112 (FIG. 2) on rod 92 may be placed on any one of the three shoulders. As shown in FIG. 4, the shoulders are in different sections of the cross-sectional area of the core so that the rod 92 may be rotated and raised or lowered to place the projection 112 on the desired shoulder. Thus, the ball 93 may be readily set by a player at any of the three different heights The player who is performing as batter may place the ball at such selected height that the bat will contact it above, at, or below center, and thus the arc at which the ball is hit can be somewhat controlled.

On the base 10, as shown in FIG. 1, there are markings indicating a baseball diamond. In each of the bases 12, 14 and 16, is a vertical bore 114 for receiving the peg 116 on the underside of each playing piece 118 (See FIGS. 6 and 1). These playing pieces, simulating ball players, may be inserted in the appropriate base to indicate base runners.

Also on base is a spinner 120 with a spinner disc 122 thereunder. The spinner disc 122 is aligned with the spinner or pointer 120 and marked in segments with designations indicating the possible results of the batters fortunes at home plate, e.g., walk, strike-out," single, homer, etc.

The game may be played indoors as well as outdoors, and any number of players up to about 10 or 12 may participate. The players take turns as batter. The defensive players take positions in the field. The batter places the ball 93 in the loop and adjusts the height of the rod 92 as he desires. He then cocks the upper torso 42 by rotating it against the tension of spring 62 and latches the upper torso in cocked position when latch rod 68 moves into opening 80 in plate 60.

The batter spihs the pointer '120 and is governed by the instructions in the segment of the spinner disc where the pointer comes to rest. If the pointer indicates a hit, the batter grasps handle 26 and oscillates the platform 24. At any point he chooses, he depresses button 76 to release the upper torso and permit it to rotate under the drive of spring 62. The bat 50 is brought around to strike the ball 93 and propel it into the air. If one of the fielders catches the ball before it touches the surface, the batter is out. If a fielder does not catch the ball in the air, the batter advances to the base designated by the pointer. The player at bat then places a playing piece 118 in that base and proceeds with his next turn at bat, or another player takes a turn at bat. The standard rules of baseball may be varied as the players desire.

In order to provide for selectively limiting the arc of movement of platform 24, for example when relatively few players are fielding the ball, there is a series of openings (FIG. 1) around the raised circular section 18 for receiving a stop peg 132. When placed in an opening 130, peg 132 projects upwardly into the path of platform extension 28 to limit the swinging movement of the batter and platform. Preferably, a peg is thus inserted on opposite sides of extension 28 to define the path of adjustment for the batters position. In addition, foul lines can be defined on the playing field as in regular baseball. 7M

While the game apparatus has been described in connection with specific structure, it will be apparent that variations might be made without departing from the principles of this invention.

We claim:

1. Game apparatus for simulating baseball play comprising, a base, a platform rotatably mounted on said base, a toy figure, including a torso element mounted on said platform, said torso having an upper section and a lower section, said upper section being rotatable with respect to said lower section, spring means disposed within said figure in position for normally biasing said upper section to rotate them from a cocked position to an uncooked position, latch means including a generally vertically movable rod extending upwardly within a leg of said figure to a position within said upper torso section for locking said upper torso section in position after it has been rotated to a cocked position, said rod having an accessible end at the lower portion of said leg for enabling downward movement of the rod and release of the latch, a simulated baseball bat secured to and extending from the upper section of said torso, and means for holding a ball adjacent the upper section of said torso in the path of said bat as said upper torso section is rotated from the cocked to the uncocked position, and said ball holding means comprises a support rod having an upper end for supporting said ball and having a lower end carrying a projection, and means on said base defining a bore receiving the lower end of said support rod and forming a number of shoulders at different levels adjacent said bore for cooperating with said projection to enable adjustment of the height at which the ball is supported. 

